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City Council Minutes Page 8 <br /> August 7,2017 <br /> ----------------------------- <br /> Council recessed at 7:42 p.m. in order to go into work session. Council reconvened <br /> at 7:46 p.m. <br /> 10.1 Proposed Aquaponics Facility Presentation <br /> Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. <br /> Akash Haider, Founder and SEO of Stars Hollow—Explained aquaponics and <br /> discussed the process for his company, Stars Hollow, start up as outlined in his <br /> PowerPoint presentation. <br /> Councilmember Wagner questioned if there would be fish odor to the surrounding <br /> area. Mr. Haider said no. <br /> Councilmember Ovall questioned if project financing has been established. Mr. <br /> Haider stated he is working with Vision Bank, Golden Valley,MN. He stated they <br /> have 34 produce groups,including grocery stores who want them to start growing. <br /> Councilmember Westgaard questioned what infrastructure may be needed by Mr. <br /> Haider for his operation. Ms. Othoudt stated none from the city. She stated staff is <br /> working on the financing structure but wanted to gauge Council interest in pursuing <br /> this project further. She stated financing could be a combination of county, state, and <br /> city funding. She stated this is a great idea and is becoming popular around the state. <br /> Mayor Dietz stated he liked the employment numbers. <br /> Council stated they are willing to pursue the project further as it seems to fit the area <br /> and job creation. <br /> Councilmember Ovall stated it sounds like a great project but he is concerned with <br /> what the city would do with such a large building if the business failed. <br /> 10.2 Recreational Programming <br /> Mr. Portner presented the staff report. He questioned the city's goals for recreation <br /> programming. <br /> Mayor Dietz stated recreation programming has grown and he did feel there are <br /> areas of duplication. He agreed the city should review programming. He noted <br /> participation is down 14% since the guide was discontinued. He questioned what <br /> other cities do for programming. <br /> Mr. Benoit stated the City of Rogers operates through community education with <br /> city support. It was noted the City of Otsego has started some of their own <br /> programming. <br /> UREJ <br />